Here's Your Letter
by cream-cheese-girl
Summary: Gabriella and her mom leave town in the middle of the night, leaving behind nothing but a note for Troy hidden beneath the doormat of her house. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.

A/n: I thought of this one-shot while I was cleaning the oven at work, and it made me sad, so I thought I'd share it with everyone! Please review!

Troy knocked harder on the door, trying to see through the curtains, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Gabriella? Miss Montez?" He called out, shuffling his feet impatiently and knocking on the door again. "Anyone home?"

He shivered a little, pulling his jacket tighter around himself and adjusting his back pack on his shoulder. It was a little heavier than usual, Gabriella hadn't shown up at school earlier that day, so he figured she of all people wouldn't want to miss out on the days homework. The thought made him smile slightly, thinking of their study sessions…which basically consisted of him staring absentmindedly out the window, her frowning in concentration attempting mathematical equations that made Troy's brain melt just at the sight of them, her realizing he wasn't paying attention, getting mad and pouting at him, then his favorite part, her not being able to stay mad at him and the two of them ending up kissing on the couch, math's homework abandoned on the coffee table.

"Gabriella?" He called out again, frowning. Their car wasn't in the driveway, so maybe they were at the store? Or maybe her mom had taken her to the doctor if she was sick.

"It's no use kid, they left last night"

Troy's head bolted up in surprise and he turned to see a large middle aged man standing on the lawn of the neighboring house, holding a dog on a leash, about to take it on a walk.

"Huh?" Troy muttered, confused, raising his eyebrow.

"The Montezs', the mum and the kid, packed up and left, it would have been a bit after 11 last night"

Troy glanced at the front door in disbelief and walked towards the man, till he was standing at the fence that divided the houses.

"Uhh…did they say when they'd be back?"

The man shook his head and gave Troy a sad smile. "Didn't look like they WERE coming back kid, they packed up everything into that car, the young one, the teenager, was in a right state, crying and screaming at her mum, didn't want to leave by the looks of it"

Troy's heart skipped a beat, he swallowed. "I…are…are you sure?"

The dog barked, pulling on the leash and the man leaned down and gave it a gentle pat on the head, looking up at Troy with a small frown.

"Pretty sure, look, kid, I don't know much, it's none of my business, but the last few weeks, the mums boyfriends been coming over a lot, drunk by the sound of the yelling, every night till early morning, screaming and fighting, bottles getting smashed…until last night, they just left, mattresses strapped to the top of the car, didn't leave anything behind but a goodbye"

Troy's eyes widened, feeling his heart sink, he swallowed, glancing back at the empty house in disbelief. It couldn't be true.

The dog struggled on its leash again and the man stood up and gave Troy an apologetic look, gesturing with his free hand to the dog.

"Look kid, I've got to go"

Troy swallowed and nodded, saying quickly. "Yeah…I…uhh…thanks…for your help" He took a step backwards.

The man gave him one last look then turned and walked down the street with the dog in tow.

Troy stared after him for a split second then ran back up the steps onto Gabriella's front porch, pounding on the door again, refusing to believe what the man had said.

"Gabriella! Open up! It's Troy!" he waited for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Nothing.

"No…" He whispered, his eyes darting around the house, unable to process what the man had told him.

Gabriella? His Gabriella? Gone? No.

He slumped against the door and sank down to sit on the doorstep, groaning slightly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, frantically dialing her home number.

'The number you have dialed is not connected, please check the number and try again'

He swore under his breath and dialed her cell, pressing the phone tightly to his ear impatiently.

'The number you have dialed is unavailable, please check the number and try again'

He swore again, louder this time, putting his head in his hands. Standing up quickly and beating on the door again, knocking the doormat slightly in the process.

"Gabriella?" he yelled helplessly, feeling lost, his heart racing. "Please open the door" He whispered, looking down at his feet. His eyes narrowed, the corner of something white was sticking out from underneath the doormat. He bent down quickly and pulled the doormat aside. On the ground lay a sealed envelope, with his name scrawled neatly on the front in Gabriella's distinct hand writing.

With his heart racing he bent down and picked it up, hands shaking. He stared at his name for a long time, and then glanced up at the big empty house, stomach churning.

With a deep sigh of confusion, he shoved the letter into his pocket and turned, hurrying home. He made the appropriate excuses to skip dinner to his mom and headed straight to his room, his head awash with millions of thoughts.

He lay down on his bed, holding the letter up above him, staring at her handwriting. Did he want to read it? Could he handle it?

He sat up, and sighed heavily. Drunken fighting, bottles being smashed, driving away in the middle of the night…It couldn't be true, Gabriella didn't deserve all that. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

He peeled the envelope open carefully, pulling out two pages torn hurriedly from one of Gabriella's school exercise books. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again with a deep sigh, and slowly began to read.

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_Dear Troy,_

_I don't expect you to understand why I'm gone. I don't even fully understand it. I thought it was different this time. At least I had hoped it was._

_You probably won't even find this. I half hope you don't. I half hope that you forget I ever existed. That wouldn't make it any easier for me though…because for the rest of my life I'll have to live with the regret of having to leave you behind. Leaving this behind._

_I have to hurry. Mom is screaming and crying, shoving our lives into cardboard boxes, I can't believe this is happening again. Not this time._

_It's so hard to write this, even though I'll never see you again after this, I'm scared of what your reaction will be. There's everything and more that I've been keeping from you, from everyone. I hate keeping it inside, but I thought it was better that way. If I didn't say it aloud it was less real._

_Here goes. My life._

_My mom didn't get transferred here by her company. She was running, again. Since I was 7, when my dad died, I've never lived in one place for more than 6 months. It's always the same. Mom falls for some loser, he's nice enough at first, but then he starts drinking, or drugs, beating her, beating me, and then we run. We just pack up and run, no goodbyes, we just move on to the next town, the next state._

_It's like a routine. She deludes herself into thinking that the relationship will work. She makes promises to me that we both know she can't keep. And the next minute we're gone. I was so used to it, it didn't even affect me, it was just part of my life, like eating, breathing, or homework. And then you happened._

_I've never stayed anywhere long enough to make friends. It was easier for me that way. Not having anyone means not having anyone to miss. But when I moved here, and found you, that all changed._

_This is going to sound crazy, but I knew that I was finally…home. Every single moment we've shared together I've treasured, every kiss, every touch, every laugh, and every smile. _

_You made me feel beautiful. Like a princess._

_I don't know how I'm going to be able to not see you everyday. I can't just, shrug you off and forget you like all the random faces in the crowd from every other school I've been to over the years. _

_And now I'm crying. I'm trying not to. I'm trying to be strong for my mom, and for myself. But I can't. I can't. I wish it was time to stop running. I wish that I could wake up tomorrow and for this to all be a dream._

_You were the best thing that ever happened to me. _

_You won't be able to contact me. I don't even know where we're going. My mom said something about having a third cousin in Toronto, so maybe Canada, who knows? My cell phone got disconnected, mom couldn't pay the bill. It's easier this way anyway, I wouldn't expect you to want to talk to me ever again after this. _

_I have to go. No. I can't do this. I don't even know how I'm going to get this to you. I feel sick. Tell Taylor and Chad I'll miss them so much. Show them this letter, burn it, rip it up, keep it forever, I don't know, do what you want, just know that if things went my way, I would still be there in your arms._

_Umm…I'm so bad at this, but…I'll never forget you Troy Bolton, and even though we've never said it, I love you, now, tomorrow, the next day, and whatever comes after that._

_Lots of love always,_

_Gabriella_

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The last few paragraphs were so smudged by her tears that Troy could barely make them out, it didn't help that his hands were shaking uncontrollably as he held the page.

He read it again. Then a third time, a single tear falling slowly down his cheek. "No…" he whispered almost inaudibly, hugging the letter to his chest.

A/n: What did you think? Please review!


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